The world never ceases to disorient us. These photos—of idol worship, idle worship—resonate beyond their description for a leisurely flip or a deep read this week
Displaced Palestinians keep warm by a fire near their tent in Rafah, Gaza, on January 23, 2024. The toll since the October 7 war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas now exceeds 25,000 dead and 62,000 injured, according to the territory's health ministry. Two-thirds of the victims are believed to be women and children. Twenty-five percent of the population is in a "food catastrophe" situation and threatened with famine.
A picture taken from southern Israel at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli soldier helping his child to get down from a tank as his family visits him upon his return from a mission in the Palestinian territory on January 28, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas.
A Hindu devotee with her tongue pierced with a metal rod in the shape of a vel (divine spear) takes part in a procession during the Thaipoosam festival in Chennai on January 25, 2024. Celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Thai, the festival commemorates a divine entity killing a demon using a spear granted by Parvati, Shiva's consort.